Foot support device

ABSTRACT

Foot support unit which e.g. facilitates putting on and taking off shoes. The foot support is height adjustable by guiding means and fastening means.

The invention relates to a support device for support of a foot,preferably clad with footwear.

The object of the invention is to make everyday life easier for personswith back problems or who for other reasons find it difficult to bendtheir upper body to don or remove footwear. When using the invention,the body is kept in standing position, the user thus avoidingunnecessary bending of his upper body and the painful strains thiscauses. In addition to the invention being useful for donning andremoving footwear, it can also be used for foot care or other activitiesrelated to a person's foot region.

From the patent literature, documents are known which describe differenttypes of devices that can be used for support when footwear is to bedonned or removed: FR 2857839, U.S. Pat. No. 1,232,874, U.S. Pat. No.5,636,404, DE 102005015867, FR 1087342, FR 2898024, DE 3026287, U.S.Pat. No. 5,137,240, DE 20 2004 008 884 U1.

The support device according to the invention comprises a mountingmember for arranging to a suitable fastening area and a foot supportmember arranged height adjustable to the mounting member. Furthermore,the foot support member may comprise a support portion and a fasteningportion, preferably arranged at an angle to each other. The supportportion can be angularly adapted relative to a vertically orientedfastening portion, where the angle between the two can be determined sothat the user obtains maximum comfort and minimum bending of his bodywhen using the invention. The two portions can be constructed as acontinuous piece, but it is also possible that the support portion andthe fastening portion are joined together with the possibility ofadjusting the angle between the two portions, for example, by using alockable hinge.

The fastening portion of the support device may be provided with guidemeans, the guide means preferably comprising at least one guide element.The guide means or the at least one guide element may be arranged tocooperate with the mounting member and hold together the foot supportmember and the mounting member, while at the same time being providedfor height displacement of the foot support member relative to themounting member. The mounting member may comprise guide faces adaptedfor guiding the at least one guide element. The combination of the guidemeans arranged on the fastening portion of the support device and theconfiguration of the mounting member allows displacement of the supportdevice in the vertical direction to take place in a stable andcontrolled manner. In one embodiment of the invention, the at least oneguide element is a guide pin that is arranged in abutment with the guidefaces of the mounting member.

The fastening portion of the support device may be provided withfastening means, the fastening means preferably comprising at least onefastening element.

Furthermore, the mounting member may comprise locking portions forreleasable securement of the fastening means. The fastening means or theat least one fastening means may be arranged so as to be releasable fromthe locking portions on height displacement of the foot support memberand brought into engagement with the locking portions when the heighthas been selected. The fastening means/fastening element may be providedin the form of a locking pin which passes to be received in lockingportions. The locking portions may, for example, be provided as lockinggrooves, preferably formed in the side faces of the mounting member.

In addition, the fastening portion may be configured with additionalmeans that contribute to direction-stable guiding of the foot supportmember relative to the mounting member. To this end, the fasteningportion of the mounting member may be provided with a guide portion, andthe mounting member may comprise a guide opening for receiving thisguide portion.

The support device may be provided with a storage area for receivinganother shoe aid such as a shoe horn or other aid that can be used whenfootwear is to be donned or removed, or optionally an aid that is to beused for performing foot care. This storage area may be provided on thefoot support member or on the mounting member. In one embodiment of theinvention, the storage area is arranged internally in the mountingmember, this member being formed with a cavity that can also function asa storage area. The cavity may be defined by the side faces in which thelocking grooves are configured, and by the guide faces and a fasteningface. The fastening face is to be used for fastening the support deviceto a suitable surface where it is to be positioned so as to beaccessible to the user. A person of skill in the art will understandthat the storage area can be provided in different ways, as long as thestorage area has the function of providing storage for additional aidsin a position that the user can reach without having to bend his bodywhilst using the support device.

The invention will now be described by means of an example as shown inthe figures, wherein

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a supportdevice.

FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of the support device.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the support device in locked position.

FIG. 4 is an exploded side view of the support device.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the support device in unlocked position.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the foot support member of the supportdevice.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the support device in use.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the support device in use.

FIG. 1 shows a support device 1 for support of shoes comprising amounting member 2 and a foot support member 3. The foot support member 3is arranged adjustable relative to the mounting member 2 so that theheight of the foot support member 3 can be adjusted for use by theindividual person. The mounting member 2 is configured with a fasteningface 9 for arranging the mounting member 2 to a suitable fastening areasuch as an exterior or interior wall, a cupboard surface, a door surfaceor other suitable place where it may be desirable to fasten the supportdevice 1. The foot support member 3 comprises a support portion 4 onwhich the foot, preferably clad with a shoe, is placed in order to comeat the right height for donning/removing the shoe and optionally tyingit. It is also conceivable that the support device may be useful forplacing a foot without a shoe, for example, for performing foot care.

The support portion 4 may be provided with a non-slip surface to preventthe foot from slipping when placed on the support portion. The non-slipsurface may, for instance, be provided in different ways, for example,by using a suitable coating on the face, or by surface treating it toprovide the appropriate friction to keep the shoe/foot in place on thesupport portion. The foot support member 3 further has a fasteningportion 5 that is equipped with at least one fastening element, hereshown by a locking pin 8 which can be arranged to the fastening portion5 in that the locking pin 8 is received in hole 6 b and positioned suchthat each of the ends projects from each side of the hole 6 b. Thefastening portion 5 is further provided with a guide element, here inthe form of a guide pin 7 which can be arranged to the fastening portionin that the guide pin is placed in the through hole 6 a such that theguide pin ends project out on each side of the hole 6 a. The fasteningportion is also configured with a guide portion 6, here shown as aprojection that extends along a substantial portion of the longitudinaldirection of the fastening portion. The guide portion 6 passes for beingreceived in a guide opening 12. See for example FIG. 2, where the partsare assembled.

The mounting member 2 is configured with locking portions, here shown asa plurality of locking grooves 10 arranged in each of the opposite sidefaces of the mounting member 2. Pairs of locking grooves on each of theside faces are positioned at the same height and adapted for receivingeach of the locking pin 8 ends. Guide faces 11 are further provided inthe side of the mounting member 2 that faces the foot support member 3.The guide pin 7 of the foot support member is placed inside the cavitythat is defined by the faces of the mounting member 2 in abutment withthe guide faces 11. The guide portion 6 of the foot support member 3will then be received in the mounting member guide opening 12 whichextends in the longitudinal direction of the mounting member 2. Theguide pin 7 ensures that the foot support member 3 is held in engagementwith the mounting member 2, whilst it is possible to move the footsupport member 3 relative to the mounting member in the verticaldirection, here illustrated by the arrow H. The cooperation between themounting member 2 and the guide pin 7 and the guide portion 6 provides adirection-stable height displacement when the foot support member 3 isto be put in a new position. The locking pin 8 positioned in the lockinggroove ensures that the foot support member 3 is secured in the chosenheight position. FIG. 3 shows the foot support member 3 locked to themounting member 2 at a chosen height. If it is desirable to change theheight setting, the locking pin 8 is moved out of engagement with thelocking groove 10, preferably by a pivoting movement as shown in FIG. 5,where the guide pin 7 acts as pivot axis for the pivoting movement. Thefoot support member 3 is then free to be moved to a new height by movingthe guide pin along the guide faces of the mounting member, the lockingpin 8 being placed in engagement with a new locking groove 10 at thechosen height.

It is seen from the figures, in particular FIGS. 3-5, that the supportportion 4 of the foot support member 3 is arranged at an angle orinclined relative to the fastening portion 5 of the foot support member3. This angle can be varied depending on how inclined it is desired toarrange the support portion 4 in order that it should be comfortable forthe user to place his foot on the support device 1.

It is further seen from the figures that the cavity defined by the sidefaces of the mounting member 2 can be used for storage of a shoe horn13. The underside of the mounting member 2 can optionally be closed oropen.

FIG. 6 shows the foot support member 3 alone, here in an embodimentwhere the support portion 4 and the fastening portion 5 are shown madeas a continuous unit. The support portion 4 and the fastening portion 5may alternatively be made separately before being joined together ifthis is desirable.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the support device in use where the placing of a footwith or without a shoe on the support portion is shown illustrated byuser person P.

1. A support device (1) for support of a foot, preferably clad withfootwear, comprising a mounting member (2) for arranging to a suitablefastening area and a foot support member (3) arranged height adjustableto the mounting member (2), the foot support member (3) comprising asupport portion (4) and a fastening portion (5) which preferably areangled relative to one another characterised in that the fasteningportion (5) is provided with guide means, preferably at least one guideelement, and fastening means, preferably at least one fastening element.2. A support device according to claim 1, characterised in that theguide means cooperate with the mounting member (2) and hold together thefoot support member (3) and the mounting member (2) while at the sametime being provided for height displacement of the foot support member(3) relative to the mounting member (2).
 3. A support device accordingto one of claim 2 or 3, characterised in that the mounting member (2)comprises a locking portion for releasable securement of the fasteningmeans, the fastening means being released from the locking portions onheight displacement of the foot support member (3) and the fasteningmeans being brought into engagement with the locking portions when theheight has been chosen.
 4. A support device according to one of thepreceding claims, characterised in that the mounting member (2)comprises guide faces (11) arranged for guiding the at least one guideelement.
 5. A support device according to one of the preceding claims,characterised in that the fastening portion is configured with a guideportion (6) and optionally that the mounting member (2) comprises guideopening (12) for receiving the guide portion (6).
 6. A support deviceaccording to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the atleast one guide element comprises a guide pin (7) arranged in abutmentwith the guide faces (11).
 7. A support device according to one of thepreceding claims, characterised in that the at least one fasteningelement comprises a locking pin (8) which passes to be received inlocking portions preferably provided as locking grooves (10) preferablyformed in the side faces of the mounting member (2).
 8. A support deviceaccording to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that thesupport device (1) is provided with a storage area for receivingadditional aids as, for example, a shoe horn (13).